This invention relates in general to a glove donning apparatus for use by a person in the donning of a glove with a single hand, and more particularly to a glove donning apparatus for donning gloves made of elastic material; and still more particularly to a device for donning elastic medical gloves with a single hand.
Heretofore, it has been known to manually don elastic medical examination gloves with the assistance of another person, and sometimes by the person desiring to wear the gloves. Medical examination gloves of the latex or rubber type, both powdered and powderless, are used extensively in doctors"" offices and hospitals for the examination of patients, as well as in operatories during surgery. Powder-free gloves are more difficult to don than powdered gloves, and since patients may adversely react to powder, powder-free gloves are generally preferred. Also, dentists and dental hygienists and other dental assistants use rubberized examination gloves in the handling of patients.
It has also been known that great difficulty has also been experienced when a person is donning a double set of gloves, that is, one glove over another glove, in order to guard against needle punctures.
It has also been known to provide glove donning apparatus such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,309 and U.S. Design Pat. No. 316,176, but these devices are complex in structure, difficult to use, and prone to compromise glove sterility. Donning skin-tight latex or rubber gloves is not only time-consuming but tedious, particularly when it must be done without the assistance of another person.
Moreover, a single-handed person relies on another person to assist in donning medical examination gloves, and it is difficult to accomplish the glove donning operation with heretofore known makeshift devices.
The glove donning apparatus of the present invention solves the problems heretofore encountered in providing an apparatus that allows a person to don a glove by using a single hand. The present invention is particularly useful in donning both powdered and powderless elastic medical examination gloves that are xe2x80x9cskin tightxe2x80x9d. The glove donning apparatus of the present invention significantly reduces the difficulty of donning a glove by the single hand of a person by providing a flexible two-sided restraining device. This restraining device holds the glove open at the cuff end in a manner that maintains the hygienic integrity of the glove in that the exterior of the glove will not be contaminated. The two-sided restraining device includes a pair of elongated bar members over which the cuff end or mouth end of a rubber glove may be stretched and held in place. The bar members are supported on somewhat flexible rods that extend to a base on a stationary table or bench. Thus, the spaced-apart bar-shaped member may resiliently move toward each other but normally be in a spaced-apart relation.
The glove is primarily engaged at the cuff end at four different spaced-apart points to hold the cuff end or mouth end of the glove open for the insertion of a hand. The restraining bar members hold the glove in position the entire time a person is inserting the hand and fingers into the glove. Once the hand is fully inserted into the glove and the glove is on the hand, manipulation of the arm and hand of the individual can then serve to disengage the cuff end of the glove from the bar-shaped members and free of the donning apparatus.
The bar-shaped members may take any suitable form in that they may be curvate or arcuate in form, or they may be straight. Moreover, they may be formed by the bending of an elongated wire into a loop that enables the loop part of the wire to function as the glove-engaging member.
Most importantly, the glove donning device of the present invention can be used by a person with a single hand, whether that person has two hands or not.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved glove donning apparatus or device for the donning of elastic rubber gloves that may be donned by a person without the help of another person, and more particularly with the use of only a single hand.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a glove donning device that allows an individual to easily mount the glove on a donning apparatus and thereafter to insert the hand into the glove while using only one hand of the person.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a glove donning apparatus that is very simple in operation and function and which is inexpensive to manufacture while being capable of withstanding the rigors of donning gloves by persons needing to wear examination gloves when in contact with patients.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a glove donning apparatus that will allow the medical examination gloves to be held and maintained in a sterile condition during the time that the glove is being donned by a person.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts.